NY_STATEN ISLAND--Seaview Hospital

Detail of a mural on the interior of one of the hospital buildings (a post card made from a photograph)**

Title of Installation:

Seaview Hospital, Tile Panels on the Women's Ward Pavilions, Buildings 1 - 4

Materials Used:

Ceramic Tiles

General Description:

The design is a brilliantly colored series of ceramic murals and reliefs with gold square tiles, garlands, crests and seashells under the eves of the buildings. Almost life-size figures of children, nurses and physicians are repeated on each building. There are four distinct groups of figures along with a series of iconographic shields.* Four of the original eight buildings, designed by the New York architect Raymond F. Almirall, were demolished in 1972, and the remaining four buildings were abandoned in the mid-1970s. The buildings are within the Seaview Hospital-Farm Colony Historic District, however, most of the buildings on this property remain vacant and many are in a severe state of deterioration. There are also tiles and polychrome terra cotta on some of the other buildings (Photos 4 and 5 below). The terra cotta may have been manufactured by the Atlantic Terra Cotta Co. of Staten Island.

Technical Information (Size,mfg., etc.):

The ceramic work was produced in Delft, Holland by the Joost Thooft & Labouchere Company. This company has been in continuous operation since the 1750s.*

Year Created:

c. 1909-1911

Year Installed, if different:

Does Installation Still Exist?

Yes, but the buildings and tile panels have been neglected for about 35 years and are in danger of loss through deterioration and vandalism.

If Not, What Happened?

State:

New York

City:

Staten Island

Location of Installation:

460 Brielle Avenue, Richmond County, Staten Island

GPS Coordinates:

Directions to Installation:

Additional Information, Websites, Citations:

*http://www.preserve2.org/seaview/wwp.htm

http://www.preserve2.org/seaview/commission.htm

**http://preservestatenisland.org/

See the following website for more photos and closeups of the panels.

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/Seaview/seaview.html

Submitted by and Year:

Michael Padwee (tileback101"at"collector.org), September 2010.

Color photos courtesy of Michael Padwee. The photos of the interior, loggia tilework were taken during a special tour of the buildings arranged in 2000 by Susan Tunick, the head of Friends of Terra Cotta.